Chapter 219 - 218: A Mysterious Commission
"Well, at least that proves I’ve improved."
Gray paid no mind to Maki throwing cold water on his enthusiasm. He was still buzzing.
Just moments ago, while sparring with Maki, Gray had been completely immersed.
In that moment, his mind was free of all distractions. There was only one thought: ’I have to beat this guy.’
It wasn’t just his body; even his Fighting Qi seemed to respond to his desire.
Gray himself hadn’t even noticed when his Fighting Qi had coated his weapon.
By the time he registered what had happened, the process was already complete. It felt entirely natural.
"Come on, let’s go again!"
Overcome with joy, Gray forgot his exhaustion. He scrambled up from the ground and reset his stance.
"Since you’ve gotten stronger, I guess I’ll get a little more serious too."
Maki tossed aside the broken Wooden Saber and pulled a new one from the weapon rack.
Gray’s expression suddenly froze.
Because he could clearly see a faint aura swirling around Maki’s Wooden Saber.
It was Fighting Qi.
Maki smiled.
"Let’s go."
...
「Adventurer’s Association.」
"Aah..."
Zelir walked into the Association hall, yawning. He subconsciously hugged his arms and rubbed them. "So cold..."
Ever since learning Heart Sleep from Mage Haddley, Zelir had spent the last few days practicing the new skill.
Aided by his natural talent, his proficiency gradually increased, and he was able to successfully enter the Heart Sleep state every time.
However, perhaps because his body and Spirit hadn’t quite adapted to this "dual-processing,"
he still felt a bit drained when he woke up in the morning after a night of Heart Sleep.
Still, it was much better than Meditation.
Zelir had also found time to stop by Barrett’s shop to ask about his Magic Robe.
It was more than halfway done; Barrett was rushing to complete the final rune engravings.
It would be ready in about a week.
"Morning."
Zelir waved a greeting to his squad members.
Everyone was there: Marcus, Valles, Gray, and Maki.
Today was the day they’d agreed to take on a quest together.
Everyone looked the same as usual, though Gray seemed particularly full of life.
He stood ramrod straight, his eyes bright, radiating an aura of cheerful optimism.
"How’s the Swordsmanship training going? Made any progress?" Zelir asked casually.
"Of course," Gray answered, full of confidence.
"Ha... I’ll be looking forward to the day you level up, then," Zelir said, patting Gray’s shoulder.
They looked around the room reserved for Silver Level Adventurers, but they couldn’t find any suitable quests.
Now, even the weaker [Challenge]-rated Demons were rarely seen; the quests left on the board were all for much stronger [Challenge]-rated Demons.
"Why don’t we... call it a day? We could just wait a few days. Maybe some new quests will show up," Marcus suggested.
"Sounds good." Everyone nodded.
The available quests were too risky for their squad’s composition; there was a high chance of someone getting hurt or worse.
It wasn’t worth risking their lives over.
Seeing the squad emerge from the room empty-handed, Eira from the front desk waved and called out to Zelir.
"Mr. Zelir!"
"What’s up?" Zelir asked, walking over to her.
"You all... couldn’t find a suitable quest?"
"That’s right..."
Zelir nodded helplessly. "We were planning on coming back in a few days."
"Perfect."
A smile bloomed on Eira’s face. "Just like last time, management just sent down some new quests."
"Putting aside the more trivial jobs, I think you’ll be interested in this one."
"Oh?"
Zelir perked up. "Is it a quest to clear out Minotaurs?"
’Perfect. We can restock on some high-quality ingredients.’
"Not quite... It’s an investigation quest for an Ancient Castle," Eira said.
She handed a quest form to Zelir.
Zelir gave it a quick scan, inwardly surprised.
’It’s a request from the Nobility, no less.’
[Investigation Quest for Rose Castle]
Recently, while the Wenmier Clan was renovating the long-abandoned Rose Castle, they discovered a series of unusual disturbances within.
These include the sounds of dragging chains and hollow wails at night, as well as numerous patches of freshly turned soil near the Ancient Castle grounds.
After an on-site inspection and assessment by professionals, it has been determined that Demons are present within, and in considerable numbers.
Adventurer Squads are hereby summoned.
Quest Level:
Junior (three stars)
Quest Objective:
Investigate the source of the strange noises within the Ancient Castle.
If any Demons are found, eliminate them all and restore peace to the grounds.
Reward:
Basic reward: Thirty Gold Coins.
The Wenmier Clan will offer an additional reward for any Demons eliminated during the investigation.
Association Notes:
Based on investigator reports, the Association believes the entities within the Ancient Castle are most likely Undead Demons.
These may include large numbers of wandering [Skeleton Soldiers] or the more advanced [Evil Remains], both of which are known to appear in long-abandoned castles.
The possibility that higher-level Undead Demons, such as [Binding Spirits] or [Ghouls], lie dormant in the Underground Tomb cannot be ruled out.
All squads should make thorough preparations.
"Eira is sure nice to our squad," Maki remarked, his expression complicated as he watched Eira hand the quest form to Zelir.
According to the Association’s rules, these quests are supposed to be posted all at once at noon.
This was the second time Eira had let them pick one early.
"She’s nice to *Zelir*. You’re getting ahead of yourself," Gray said.
Maki’s neck stiffened, and for a moment, he couldn’t think of a comeback.
"Ah..."
Seeing Maki’s reaction, a mischievous grin spread across Gray’s face.
"You don’t have a crush on Eira, do you? I suddenly remember you pursuing a girl just like her before."
"Pursuing her? Don’t be ridiculous! I just... had a slight crush on her, that’s all," Maki retorted, his face turning pale.
"If it was just a ’slight crush,’ you wouldn’t have come crying to me and gotten drunk all night after she turned you down."
Gray shrugged. "Maybe she just doesn’t like how you’re not upfront about your feelings?"
"Everyone, come take a look at this."
Zelir cut off their bickering, waving the other squad members over and handing them the quest form.
They passed the quest form around.
"Undead Demons, huh..."
Marcus thought for a moment. "We ran into them on that graveyard clearing quest we took before."
"This quest is great! The base reward is Thirty Gold Coins, and Skeleton Soldiers and Evil Remains aren’t hard to deal with," Gray said nonchalantly.
"Even if there are Ghouls or whatever, it’s nothing to be scared of. Besides, we get an extra reward for killing those Demons."
"Just what you’d expect from a quest posted by Nobility. They’re always generous."
Valles had no objections either.
"Alright, then. We’re taking this one," Zelir said, making the final decision.